Ume Shiso Pasta 梅しそパスタ

If you enjoy Japanese-style (wafu) pasta, you‘ll love this Ume Shiso Pasta. Here, we toss spaghetti in olive oil, garlic, umeboshi, and soy sauce and top it with nori and perilla leaves. Combining simple Japanese and Italian flavors brings out the best of both worlds.

Have you tried Japanese-style (wafu) pasta before? Wafu pasta is very popular in Japan! However, these dishes are typically not offered in Japanese restaurants outside of Japan. That’s why I’ve received many recipe requests from my readers who want to make a homemade version of this style of pasta.

Today, I’m going to share a popular wafu pasta recipe called Ume Shiso Pasta. This recipe features two iconic Japanese flavors that give a delicate and refreshing twist to Italian noodles, bringing out the best of both worlds.

What is Shiso?

Shiso (perilla or ooba) leaves are a popular aromatic herb used in many Japanese cooking recipes like salad, noodles, sushi, and tempura. It’s often used as a garnish or topping. You might have seen it when you ordered sashimi or sushi and the chef used shiso leaves as garnish.

I’ve used shiso in recipes like Salmon & Ikura Don and Chicken Nanban. I introduced quite a few recipes with shiso in my first two years of blogging, but I learned that this is not an easy ingredient to source for a lot of readers. As a result, I’ve tried to avoid it in my recipes, even though I love this Japanese herb!

Shiso has a unique and refreshing flavor. I hope you can find it in your local Japanese grocery stores, or grow this plant in your herb garden (they are easy to grow).

What is Ume?

Ume or umeboshi is Japanese pickled plums. Umeboshi are a popular kind of Japanese pickles (tsukemono) and they are extremely sour and salty.

We usually serve umeboshi with rice or in Rice Balls (Onigiri). If you can’t find umeboshi, you may substitute an ume paste called neri ume (Japanese umeboshi plum paste).

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

To be honest, this is probably one of my favorite Japanese-style pasta recipes that my mom made when I was growing up!

• Refreshing Japanese flavors – Herbaceous shiso and tart umeboshi go so well together.
• Quick to make – It takes only 20 minutes from start to finish.
• Light – A perfect light meal with a comforting taste, especially on warm summer days.

Ingredients You’ll Need

The key to tasty Ume Shiso Pasta is to keep the ingredients minimal. Otherwise, too many flavors can overwhelm the dish and the delicate ume and shiso flavors get lost. For this simple pasta, I added chicken for protein and buna shimeji mushrooms, which work really well with ume and shiso.

• spaghetti
• shiso leaves – for garnish
• a couple cloves garlic
• shimeji mushrooms
• umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums)
• chicken tenders – also called chicken fingers or strips; a very tender cut that stays moist; can substitute chicken breasts or thighs if you cannot find it
• kosher salt – I use Diamond Crystal brand
• freshly ground black pepper
• all-purpose flour
• extra-virgin olive oil
• soy sauce
• shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori) – for garnish

How to Make Ume Shiso Pasta

1. Cook the spaghetti in a pot of lightly salted boiling water. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain the noodles.
2. Prep the ingredients while the noodles are cooking. Julienne the shiso leaves for garnish. Slice the garlic cloves and cut off the root end of the shimeji. Remove the pits from the umeboshi and mince the flesh into small pieces.
3. Slice the chicken tenders into bite size pieces. Season with salt and pepper, then coat with all-purpose flour.
4. Cook the sauce. In a hot pan, cook the garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink. Then, add the mushrooms and cook until coated with oil. Add the umeboshi, soy sauce, and half of the reserved pasta cooking water.
5. Add the drained spaghetti to the pan once the chicken is coated with the sauce. Toss to coat the pasta well with the sauce. Add more pasta water and soy sauce, if you need more sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Garnish with shiso leaves and shredded nori seaweed.

The leftovers store well, too. You can keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.

I hope you give this a try! You’ll love how simple ingredients play well in this quick recipe. It will make a delicious addition to your dinner recipes rotation.

Wafu Pasta Dishes You’ll Enjoy

• Japanese Pasta with Shrimp and Asparagus
• Shiso Garlic Pasta
• Classic Mentaiko Pasta
• Miso Butter Pasta with Tuna and Cabbage
• Mushroom Tuna Pasta

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Ume Shiso Pasta

4.92 from 23 votes

If you enjoy Japanese-style (wafu) pasta, you‘ll love this Ume Shiso Pasta. Here, we toss spaghetti in olive oil, garlic, umeboshi, and soy sauce and top it with nori and perilla leaves. Combining simple Japanese and Italian flavors brings out the best of both worlds.

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Video

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 8 oz spaghetti (4 oz, 113 g per person)
• ▢ 10–20 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) (for garnish; I like to use a lot for more flavor)
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic
• ▢ 1.8 oz shimeji mushrooms (½ package)
• ▢ 2 pieces umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums)
• ▢ 4 pieces chicken tenders (also called chicken fingers or strips; these strips of white meat from either side of the breastbone stay moist when cooked)
• ▢ ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ▢ freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour)
• ▢ 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or use 1 Tbsp for a nonstick pan)
• ▢ 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori) (for garnish)

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

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Instructions

 

• Gather all the ingredients.
  
• Cook 8 oz spaghetti in lightly salted boiling water. Boil about 1 minute less than the package instructions as we will cook the spaghetti further in the sauce. Make sure to reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water before you drain the spaghetti into a colander.
  

To Prepare the Ingredients

• Meanwhile, roll up 10–20 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) and julienne into thin strips. Set aside for garnish.
  
• Slice 2 cloves garlic and discard the bottom (root) end of 1.8 oz shimeji mushrooms.
  
• Remove a seed from 2 pieces umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums) and discard. Then, mince the flesh into small pieces.
  
• Slice 4 pieces chicken tenders diagonally into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces; I use a Japanese cutting technique called sogigiri. Season the chicken with ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  
• Sprinkle 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour) over the chicken and coat it well with your hands.
  

To Cook the Ume Shiso Pasta

• Heat 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil on medium-high heat and cook the garlic until fragrant.
  
• Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink. Then, add the shimeji mushrooms and cook until coated with oil.
  
• Add the minced umeboshi, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and half (¼ cup) of the reserved pasta cooking water.
  
• When the chicken is coated with the sauce, add the drained spaghetti to the pan.
• Using tongs, coat the spaghetti well with the sauce. If you need more sauce, add more pasta cooking water and soy sauce and adjust the flavor. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste.
  

To Serve

• Garnish the Ume Shiso Pasta with julienned shiso leaves and ¼ cup shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori) on top and serve.
  

To Store

• You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.

Nutrition

Calories: 711 kcal · Carbohydrates: 96 g · Protein: 38 g · Fat: 19 g · Saturated Fat: 3 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 11 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 64 mg · Sodium: 736 mg · Potassium: 752 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 4 g · Vitamin A: 550 IU · Vitamin C: 11 mg · Calcium: 42 mg · Iron: 2 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: pasta, umeboshi

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